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American Red Cross
Purpose "Since its founding in 1881 by visionary leader Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been the nation's premier emergency response organization. As part of a worldwide movement that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguishes itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters. Over the years, the organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering. Today, in addition to domestic disaster relief, the American Red Cross offers compassionate services in five other areas: community services that help the needy; support and comfort for military members and their families; the collection, processing and distribution of lifesaving blood and blood products; educational programs that promote health and safety; and international relief and development programs. The American Red Cross is where people mobilize to help their neighbors—across the street, across the country, and across the world—in emergencies. Each year, in communities large and small, victims of some 70,000 disasters turn to neighbors familiar and new—the more than half a million volunteers and 35,000 employees of the Red Cross. Through nearly 700 locally supported chapters, more than 15 million people gain the skills they need to prepare for and respond to emergencies in their homes, communities and world. Some four million people give blood—the gift of life—through the Red Cross, making it the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. And the Red Cross helps thousands of U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty stay connected. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global network of 186 national societies, the Red Cross helps restore hope and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. An average of 92 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work. The American National Red Cross is headquartered in Washington, Gail J. McGovern is President and CEO, and Bonnie McElveen-Hunter is Chairman of the Board of Governors." History "Clara Barton and a circle of acquaintances founded the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. on May 21, 1881. Barton first heard of the Swiss-inspired international Red Cross network while visiting Europe following the Civil War. Returning home, she campaigned for an American Red Cross society and for ratification of the Geneva Convention protecting the war-injured, which the United States ratified in 1882. Barton headed the Red Cross for 23 years, during which time it conducted its first domestic and overseas disaster relief efforts, aided the United States military during the Spanish-American War, and campaigned successfully for the inclusion of peacetime relief work as part of the International Red Cross Movement-the so-called "American Amendment" that initially met with some resistance in Europe. The Red Cross received its first congressional charter in 1900 and a second in 1905, the year after Barton resigned from the organization. This charter-which remains in effect today-sets forth the purposes of the organization that include giving relief to and serving as a medium of communication between members of the American armed forces and their families and providing national and international disaster relief and mitigation. Prior to the First World War, the Red Cross introduced its first aid, water safety, and public health nursing programs. With the outbreak of war, the organization experienced phenomenal growth. The number of local chapters jumped from 107 in 1914 to 3,864 in 1918 and membership grew from 17,000 to more than 20 million adult and 11 million Junior Red Cross members. The public contributed $400 million in funds and material to support Red Cross programs, including those for American and Allied forces and civilian refugees. The Red Cross staffed hospitals and ambulance companies and recruited 20,000 registered nurses to serve the military. Additional Red Cross nurses came forward to combat the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918. After the war, the Red Cross focused on service to veterans and enhanced its programs in safety training, accident prevention, home care for the sick and nutrition education. It also provided relief for victims of such major disasters as the Mississippi River floods in 1927 and severe drought and the Depression during the 1930s. The Second World War called upon the Red Cross to provide extensive services once again to the U.S. military, Allies, and civilian war victims. It enrolled more than 104,000 nurses for military service, prepared 27 million packages for American and Allied prisoners of war, and shipped more than 300,000 tons of supplies overseas. At the military's request, the Red Cross also initiated a national blood program that collected 13.3 million pints of blood for use by the armed forces. After World War II, the Red Cross introduced the first nationwide civilian blood program that now supplies nearly 50 percent of the blood and blood products in this country. The Red Cross expanded its role in biomedical research and entered the new field of human tissue banking and distribution. During the 1990s, it engineered a massive modernization of its blood services operations to improve the safety of its blood products. It continued to provide services to members of the armed forces and their families, including during the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf wars. The Red Cross also expanded its services into such fields as civil defense, CPR/AED training, HIV/AIDS education, and the provision of emotional care and support to disaster victims and their survivors. It helped the federal government form the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and serves as its principal supplier of mass care in federally declared disasters. While closely associated with the federal government in the promotion of its objectives, the Red Cross is an independent, volunteer-led organization, financially supported by voluntary public contributions and cost-reimbursement charges. An all volunteer Board of Governors lead the organization. The president of the United States, who is honorary chairman of the Red Cross, appoints eight governors, including the chairman of the board. The chairman nominates and the board elects the president of the Red Cross who is responsible for carrying into effect the policies and programs of the board. The American Red Cross works closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross on matters of international conflict and social, political, and military unrest. As a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which it helped found in 1919, the American Red Cross joins other national societies in bringing aid to victims of disasters throughout the world." Domestic Programs "When nearly 4.5 million people needed help following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, millions of people, foundations and corporations rose to the occasion. In just a few months, the American Red Cross was entrusted with nearly $2.2 billion for those affected. Hundreds of thousands of individuals and families looked to the Red Cross…and we responded. Following the storms, the Red Cross: *Opened nearly 1,400 evacuation shelters in 27 states and the District of Columbia, with overnight stays totaling more than 3.8 million. *Sheltered nearly 450,000 evacuees. *Served more than 68 million hot meals and snacks to evacuees and responders. *Provided emergency assistance to more than 1.4 million families – approximately four million people. This helped hurricane survivors purchase urgently needed items such as food, clothing, diapers and other essentials. The Red Cross continued support of those affected by the 2005 hurricanes through the Hurricane Recovery Program (HRP): a nationally-developed, locally-tailored initiative addressing the long-term needs of survivors of – and communities affected by – Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. It was clear that the only way to come close to meeting the needs of survivors would be for all agencies to work together more closely than ever before. Working alongside local and national nonprofits and other partner agencies, the Red Cross ultimately helped tens of thousands of people obtain emotional support, create recovery plans and meet housing or occupational needs through the HRP services. Additionally, HRP built new partnerships and communities…and helped empower families and neighborhoods alike. The Hurricane Recovery Program is a story best told by the thousands of families who received support – the thousands of faces that share equal parts grief and hope every day. It is often best told one story at a time." International Programs "American Red Cross International Services helps vulnerable people and communities around the world prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and health emergencies by mobilizing the power of the world's largest humanitarian network, made up of 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies and more than 97 million volunteers. In all our work, we abide by the seven fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. *Disaster Response and Recovery including the Tsunami Recovery Program *Disaster Preparedness *Disease Prevention including the Measles Initiative, malaria prevention and HIV/AIDS programs *International Family Tracing *Dissemination of International Humanitarian Law and Exploring Humanitarian Law Working with our partners around the globe, the American Red Cross helps to build the local capacities of our sister Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, collaborates with those to train and organize volunteers and educate communities, and establishes partnerships with other public and private organizations to strengthen and complement our core international services and initiatives."